Analyst report 2026 State of the Cloud Report: Cloud spend, AI & FinOps benchmarks
By / 22 Jun 2026 / Topics: Cloud cost optimization , Featured , Software Asset Management (SAM)
The fifteenth annual Flexera 2026 State of the Cloud Report sheds light on the cloud computing trends, the pressures facing IT professionals and the strategic initiatives they’re utilising to remain competitive in today’s dynamic and evolving landscape.
This year’s report shows cloud has entered a new phase—one where value, governance and conquering complexity define success. Generative AI (GenAI) is accelerating, and hybrid cloud remains the dominant architecture.
Centralisation is gaining momentum as cloud centers of excellence (CCOEs) and FinOps teams expand their reach, and managed service providers (MSPs) are evolving to meet new demands. These trends underscore a clear message: Success in the cloud isn’t just about technology— it’s about aligning stakeholders to drive business value.
Report highlights
76%
of large enterprises spend more than $5 million on the cloud each month
63%
of SMBs have workloads in public cloud, an 8-percentage- point increase year over year
71%
of all organisations have a CCOE or similar, and 63% rely on a FinOps team
The Flexera 2026 State of the Cloud Report reveals:
- Cloud enters the value era: Organisations are moving beyond the early FinOps focus on costcutting. This year’s data shows a clear pivot toward measuring business value instead of just savings.
- AI adoption accelerates—and oversight rises: GenAI has become pervasive. In terms of public cloud services used by all organisations, GenAI has jumped 8 percentage points to the third-place spot (58%), and nearly half say they use it extensively.
- IT complexity grows: Hybrid cloud remains the dominant architecture, with 73% of organisations operating hybrid estates—a 3-percentage-point increase year over year.
- Cost challenges persist: Estimated wasted cloud spend ticked up to 29%, reversing a five-year downward trend.
- Centralisation and governance gain momentum: Organisations are formalising cloud oversight to tame complexity and align strategy. Adoption of CCOEs rose to 71%, and FinOps team prevalence climbed to 63%.
- MSPs evolve to meet new demands: Managed service providers (MSPs) and systems integration partners remain critical for managing complexity—but with the rise of AI, their service catalog is changing.
Identify cloud cost savings
Unlock significant savings by optimising your cloud software spend.
